The Quick 10: 10 Abandoned Disney Projects

We leave for our annual Halloween Disney World trip in a little more than two weeks and I am getting ridiculously excited. I can't wait to ride the Haunted Mansion 13 times (a lofty goal that we never reach), get creeped out at the Tower of Terror and glimpse a sighting of the elusive Yeti on Expedition Everest. But what I won't be doing is visiting the Spain section of EPCOT, eating at David Copperfield's Magic Underground, or staying at the Persian-themed resort. Why? Because they're not there, obviously. But they could have been! Check out these 10 projects that were planned but never realized for one reason or another.

1. Western River Expedition. This was going to be a huge attraction at the Magic Kingdom, the biggest built at the time. It was going to center around a big structure called Thunder Mesa, and it would have worked like this: an animatronic owl by the name of Hoot Gibson would narrate you through various old west scenes like bank robberies, a rain dance, a scene with prairie dogs and buffalo, and, of course, cowboys. It would have been similar to Pirates of the Caribbean, except subtract the water and the swashbucklers. So why wasn't it built? Well, because of the pirates, actually. Even though there was a ride at Disneyland, Pirates of the Caribbean wasn't planned for the Florida park because execs didn't figure Floridians would find pirates very unusual. When guests got to the park and discovered that their scraggly swindlers were missing, however, they raised quite the ruckus. It didn't take Disney long to figure out that they could build the pirate attraction about 60 million dollars cheaper than the Western River Expedition, so it was really a no-brainer. Never mind that the WRE had already been advertised to the public and even outlined as a future attraction in current maps. The concept artwork pictured is from The Neverland Files, where you can find much more detailed information on this never-realized attraction.

2. Israel, Africa, Spain and the Soviet Union at EPCOT. Lots of country additions have been rumored over the years, but these were so far into development that signs were put up in the World Showcase telling guests where they could expect to find these countries in the future. Except"¦ not so much. Many of these countries can be found with temporary spots at the Food and Wine Festival, but none of them actually came to have a permanent home there, presumably due to budget constraints "“ except for the Soviet Union, that is. It was already decided that the Soviet section of the World Showcase would center on a replica of St. Basil's Cathedral; the rest would include a movie about the country and a ride complete with animatronics. There was even a press release announcing the addition. But then the Soviet Union collapsed and Russia's economy plummeted, along with the plans to include them at EPCOT. The Spain advertisement is from WaltDatedWorld.com.

3. German River Ride. Speaking of EPCOT, the Germany pavilion was supposed to be more than shops selling cuckoo clocks and restaurants with sausage and sauerkraut "“ it was also going to have a boat ride that took guests on a trip down the Rhine, Isar, Tauber and Ruhr Rivers, with fabulous views of German landmarks like the Cologne Cathedral. They even went so far as to construct the building that would hold the ride before axing the boats "“ next time you go there, check out the Biergarten area and you'll see how it could have once been a ride queue. The part of the building that would have held the actual ride now houses floats and is also a rehearsal area.

4. The Muppet Movie Ride. This would have been great. After Disney-MGM Studios opened and Muppet*Vision 3-D proved to be an enormous success, Disney started working with Jim Henson to incorporate more Muppet stuff into the park, including a restaurant and a ride similar to The Great Movie Ride (which isn't so Great these days) but, of course, starring the Muppets. Unfortunately, Jim Henson died shortly thereafter, and all ideas of any Muppet expansions were shelved.

6. Beastly Kingdom. When the Animal Kingdom park opened in 1998, it wasn't entirely done yet, so Disneyphiles assumed that the section called "Beastly Kingdom," which would focus on mythological animals, was still under construction but still on the books. Plans had been released, and Beastly Kingdom was to include a "Quest of the Unicorn" hedge maze, a large castle structure "ruined" by vicious fire-breathing dragons that would house a rollercoaster, and possibly a boat ride based on Fantasia. The Beasts have yet to materialize because of "“ what else "“ budget problems, but you can still spot references to the unrealized kingdom around the park "“ there's a section in the parking lot named "Unicorn," a dragon can be seen in the Animal Kingdom logo (pictured), there's a dragon-shaped fountain near the section of the park called Camp Minnie-Mickey (totally out of place, but it's where Beastly Kingdom would have started), and a statue of a dragon head that sits atop one of the ticket booths at the entrance. I don't think it's ever been said that the idea is totally dead and the rumors about its re-emergence are resurrected every year. I guess we'll see about that one.

7. The Persian Resort was a monorail-accessible hotel that was going to be built to the east of the Magic Kingdom, north of where the Contemporary Resort is now. Apparently there is some evidence that the Shah of Iran was ready and willing to fund the whole affair, but that was before the oil crisis. Once that happened, the project was canned and hasn't been considered again (as far as we know). But you can see what it might have looked like in this concept drawing to the left! During the same time frame, plans and concept sketches were drawn up for a Venetian Resort and an Asian Resort. These also fell victim to the oil crisis. In 1988, the Grand Floridian was built on the spot being considered for the Asian Resort.

8. Fire Mountain was a rollercoaster being considered for the Adventureland area of the Magic Kingdom in the late "˜90s. It would have taken guests on a thrilling trip through an active volcano. Michael Eisner loved the idea and was making plans to locate the ride between Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain, or possibly to the south of Pirates. But then the plans were axed. We don't know why (money; it's always money), but we do know that some of the ride's characteristics have been picked up in a rollercoaster at Tokyo DisneySea.

9. Dick Tracy's Crimestoppers. Oh, my husband will lament the fact that this one never came to fruition. I don't think it's a secret that Disney was banking on the 1990 movie Dick Tracy to be a huge smash hit. It wasn't. But back when they still had high hopes for a new franchise, Imagineers were working on Crimestoppers, an interactive high-speed chase through Chicago, complete with Tommy Guns. A press release announcing the revolutionary new ride was put out"¦ and then the film tanked at the box office and the ride was given cement shoes. But not all was lost "“ the Tommy Gun technology ended up paving the way for the interactive shooting adventure Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.

10. The Nightmare Before Christmas Ride. Here's another one I would have been thrilled to ride. This would have allowed guests in flying coffins to help Jack Skellington "save Christmas." It was all planned out in detail, from queue theme (the Halloweentown graveyard) to the happy ending where Jack and Sally hug in the snow. Although the concept was abandoned with no reason given, (it would have been next to It's a Small World at Disneyland; can you imagine stranger juxtaposition?), Disney has since incorporated Nightmare into the Haunted Mansion every year from Halloween to Christmas. You can read more about the details of the ride at The Neverland Files, where the picture comes from.

There are plenty of unrealized Disney rides and resorts to discuss "“ do you remember one I left off of the list? Let us know! And have a good weekend.

The sweet and striped shepherd’s hooks can be found just about everywhere during the holiday season. It's time you learned a thing or two (or 10) about them.

1. THEY’VE BEEN AROUND SINCE THE 17TH CENTURY.

While the origins of the candy cane are a bit murky, legend has it that they first appeared in hooked form around 1670. Candy sticks themselves were pretty common, but they really took shape when the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany got the bright idea of twisting them to look like shepherd’s hooks. He then handed them out to kids during church services to keep them quiet.

2. A GERMAN IMMIGRANT BROUGHT THE TRADITION TO THE STATES.

It’s no surprise, then, that it was a German immigrant who introduced the custom to America. The first reference we can find to the tradition stateside is 1847, when August Imgard of Wooster, Ohio, decked his home out with the sugary fare.

3. THEY HAVEN’T ALWAYS BEEN STRIPED.

Candy canes without the red don’t seem nearly as cheery, do they? But that’s how they were once made: all white. We’re not really sure who or exactly when the scarlet stripe was added, but we do know that images on cards before the 1900s show snow white canes.

4. THEY’RE A (RELATIVELY) VIRTUOUS HOLIDAY TREAT.

Most candy canes are around five inches long, containing only about 50 calories and no fat or cholesterol.

5. THEY DON’T ALWAYS FIT ON A CHRISTMAS TREE.

The world’s largest candy cane was built by Geneva, Illinois chef Alain Roby in 2012. It was 51 feet long, required about 900 pounds of sugar, and was eventually smashed up with a hammer so people could take home a piece.

6. EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN WAY OF EATING THEM.

Fifty-four percent of kids suck on candy canes, compared to the 24 percent who just go right for the big crunch. As you may have been able to guess, of those surveyed, boys were nearly twice as likely to be crunchers.

7. MORE THAN A BILLION ARE MADE EACH YEAR.

According to the National Confectioners Association, about 1.2 billion candy canes are made annually, and 90 percent of those are sold between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Which honestly begs the question: Who’s buying the 10 percent in the off season?

8. A PRIEST PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN THE CANDY’S MOVE TO MASS PRODUCTION.

Bobs (that’s right; no apostrophe) Candies was the first company to really hang its hat on the sweet, striped hook. Lt. Bob McCormack began making candy canes for his kids in the 1920s, and they were such a hit he decided to start mass-producing them. With the help of his brother-in-law, a Catholic priest named Gregory Harding Keller (and his invention, the Keller Machine), McCormack was eventually able to churn out millions of candy canes a day.

1. Sylvester Stallone, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. Sly doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to his film career. Despite co-starring with the delightful Estelle Getty as the titular violence-prone mother, Stallone knows just how bad the film was:

"I made some truly awful movies. Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot was the worst. If you ever want someone to confess to murder, just make him or her sit through that film. They will confess to anything after 15 minutes."

2. Alec Guinness, Star Wars.

By the time he played Obi-Wan Kenobi in 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope, Guinness had already appeared in cinematic classics like The Bridge on the River Kwai, Great Expectations and Lawrence of Arabia. During production, Guinness is reported to have said the following:

"Apart from the money, I regret having embarked on the film. I like them well enough, but it's not an acting job, the dialogue - which is lamentable - keeps being changed and only slightly improved, and I find myself old and out of touch with the young."

The insane amount of fame he won for the role as the wise old Jedi master took him somewhat by surprise and, ultimately, annoyed him. In his autobiography A Positively Final Appearance: A Journal, Guinness recalls a time he encountered an autograph-seeking fan who boasted to him about having watched Star Wars more than 100 times. In response, Guinness agreed to provide the boy an autograph under the condition that he promise never to watch the film again.

3. Bob Hoskins, Super Mario Brothers. He was in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. As far as I’m concerned, Bob Hoskins is forgiven for Super Mario Bros. Hoskins, though, doesn’t seem to be able to forgive himself. Last year the Guardian spoke with the veteran actor about his career and he summed up his feelings rather succinctly:

What is the worst job you've done?
Super Mario Brothers.

What has been your biggest disappointment?
Super Mario Brothers.

If you could edit your past, what would you change?
I wouldn't do Super Mario Brothers.

4. George Clooney, Batman & Robin. Sure, Batman & Robin made money. But by every other imaginable measure, the film was a complete failure, and a nightmare to the vast majority of the Caped Crusader’s most fervent fanatics. Star George Clooney recognized what a stinker he helped create and once plainly stated, “I think we might have killed the franchise.”

5. David Cross, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. When actors have a movie out, it's customary that they publicize the film by saying nice things about it. Earlier this year David Cross took a different approach. When it came to describing his new film Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, the veteran comedian — better known for Mr. Show and Arrested Development — went on Conan and called the film a “big commercial for Carnival Cruise Lines” and told people not to go see it.

6. Katherine Heigl, Knocked Up. Judd Apatow’s unplanned pregnancy comedy was a huge hit and helped cement her status as a bankable film actress. After the film’s release, however, Heigl didn’t have all good things to say. In fact, what she specifically said about it was that the film was:

"…A little sexist. It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys.”

7. Charlize Theron, Reindeer Games. The 2000 action film Reindeer Games starred Ben Affleck, Gary Sinese and Charlize Theron and was directed by John Frankenheimer. But it all somehow failed to come together. In the end the film lost a lot of money and compiled a wealth of negative reviews – including one from its star actress who simply said, “Reindeer Games was not a good movie.”

8. Mark Wahlberg, The Happening. Mark Wahlberg doesn’t exactly seem like a guy who lives his life afraid of trees. But that is the odd position M. Night Shyamalan’s 2008 film The Happening put him in. Wahlberg, as it turns out, doesn’t look back too fondly on the film. He went on record during a press conference for The Fighter when he described a conversation with a fellow actor:

"We had actually had the luxury of having lunch before to talk about another movie and it was a bad movie that I did. She dodged the bullet. And then I was still able to … I don’t want to tell you what movie … alright “The Happening.” F*** it. It is what it is. F***ing trees, man. The plants. F*** it. You can’t blame me for not wanting to try to play a science teacher. At least I wasn’t playing a cop or a crook."

9. John Cusack, Better Off Dead. John Cusack reportedly hated his cult 80s comedy so much that he walked out of the screening and later told the film’s director Steve Holland that Better Off Dead was "the worst thing I have ever seen" and he would "never trust you as a director again."

10 Christopher Plummer, The Sound of Music. The Sound of Music is considered a classic and has delighted many generations of fans. But the film's own lead actor, Christopher Plummer, didn't always sing its praises. Mr. Von Trapp himself declined to participate in a 2005 film reunion and, according to one acquaintance, has referred to the film as The Sound of Mucus.